I was sorting through some photos I’ve taken in the past few months. As you can imagine, many, many of the photos I take are of….. plants. It is a bit of a compulsion. And with a small, digital camera that fits in my pocket, it happens all the time.

I had meant to post these some time ago. These unusual tropicals display the most amazing range of colors, but in their foliage instead of their flowers.

These were taken at Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona del Mar last fall. A $3 donation to enter is a bargain for this small botanical garden (about the size of a suburban block) with its sweet collections of plants that thrive in our Southern California coastal climate. Aside from the tropicals that are the subjects of these photos, they have a rose garden, an herb garden, a small Japanese inspired garden and a California / Mediterranean garden. But my favorite is the spectacular cactus and succulent garden that was renovated just a few years ago. I’ll make those photos the subject of an upcoming post.

In the meantime, here are photos of leaves that look like they belong on a runway as much as in a greenhouse.